Thomas Brackett Reed, Portland, ca. 1900

WASHINGTON, D.C., February 14, 1890 --"Czar," "Tyranny," "Revolution" were calls heard from the floor of the United States House of Representatives on January 29 when Speaker of the House Thomas Brackett Reed, the imposing Republican from Maine, ordered the clerk to count the Democrats.

Thomas Brackett Reed campaign button, 1896

The Democrats remained silent at the roll call. But not for long. Reed marked them all present. There was yelling and shouting and general disarray in the House chambers. The Democrats protested. Reed ruled them out of order.

And, after five days of debate and anger, Reed's Rules are now in effect. No more silent quorums. Business will be done.

Reed Club Ribbon, ca. 1894

WASHINGTON, D.C., September 4, 1899 -- Thirty-three years as a legislator and civil servant have ended.

Thomas Brackett Reed today announced his resignation from the U.S. House of Representatives.

He has served in the Maine House, the Maine Senate, and was Maine's Attorney General from 1870-1872. He was elected to the U.S. House in 1877 and had been there twenty years when he announced his resignation.

Winslow corn label, Portland, ca.1880

Largely through trial and error -- which they have carefully recorded -- the brothers have developed a highly effective process of preparing corn for packaging, cooking it, canning it, and heating the cans for the appropriate amount of time to ensure proper preservation.

Wadsworth-Longfellow House, Portland, 1903

The "Old Original," as family members call the house, was built on Congress Street in 1785-1786 by Peleg Wadsworth, a Revolutionary War general, close friend of George Washington, and patriarch of the extended Wadsworth-Longfellow clan.

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Anne Longfellow Pierce dumbbells, ca. 1829

The house is notable for a number of reasons -- it was the first brick structure built in Portland -- but it is best known for its role in nurturing and shaping the life and work of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

Wadsworth-Longfellow House, Congress Street, Portland, ca. 1890

In accepting her bequest, the Maine Historical Society agrees to keep the house as a "Longfellow Memorial" and to build their permanent home and library on the former site of the family's barn, just behind the house.

The Wadsworth-Longfellow House will become Maine's first historic house museum.

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Brushians painting trip, ca. 1900

PORTLAND, 1889 -- The S.S. Portland, the brand new state-of-the-art side-wheel steamer built for the Eastern Steamship Co. was towed into Portland Harbor today where it will be outfitted and equipped at the Portland Company Pier.

This is just one more feather in the cap for the Portland Company, the manufacturing giant that anchors Portland's waterfront.

Portland Company stock certificate, July 1881

Morse might be dreaming about the design and building of steam locomotives, engines, boilers, and other industrial equipment.

But he's also probably thinking about his landscape paintings and the group he helped found, the Brushians, a unique organization of artists made up of businessmen who spend their Sundays painting outdoor scenes.

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The Burning of the American House, 1852

In fact, when Morse isn't at the Portland Co.'s bustling plant on Commercial Street -- the plant that straddles the Grand Trunk Railroad line, has two foundries, shops that manufacture virtually every part needed to build a locomotive, and employs hundred of workers -- he's often promoting the arts in Portland.

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Great Fire of Portland from Eastern Cemetery, 1866

Morse is president of the Portland Society of Art. For a decade, he served as field director of the White Mountain Club of Portland and even made sketches of the White Mountains for the New Hampshire Geological Survey.

Morse has no shortage of energy or interests: he is also a talented inventor, a mountain climber, and an avid ornithologist.

Dr. John S.H. Fogg

SOUTH BOSTON, 1879 -- Dr. John Samuel Hill Fogg, who has set his sights on the astonishing feat of securing the autographs of all 40 signers of the Declaration of Independence, recently bought a letter bearing Benjamin Franklin's signature.

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Abraham Lincoln commendation to Adm. Foote, 1862

Fogg, a native of Eliot, and a Bowdoin alum, has been in single-minded pursuit of the autographs of significant figures in American history since 1873 when he became paralyzed after contracting polio and had to stop practicing medicine.

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Letter from Martha Washington to Mrs. Warren, 1789

Autograph collecting is the craze of the day, but Fogg takes his collecting seriously.

In a letter to a friend, he wrote: "I dislike to write myself an Autograph Collector though that is the plain term for it, as it always reminds me of the school girl besieging every noted person to write in her autograph album . . . I dislike to have my collecting placed on a level with the school boy's work."

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Continental Congress resolution, 1776

He's thinking even bigger than signers of the Declaration. He also wants the framers of the Constitution, all the royal governors of the thirteen colonies, the 38 major generals of the Revolution, all U.S. presidents and vice presidents, and other selected notables.

Jonathan Morgan, Portland, 1869

MORGAN STAYS AT ALMS HOUSE;
HAD SOUGHT CITY HELP;
WELL-KNOWN CITIZEN
LOST ALL IN FIRE

PORTLAND, 1869 -- Jonathan "Squire" Morgan, who walks downtown streets in his large-collared cloak, wide-brimmed hat, leather goggles, and silver-headed walking stick, only wanted some more help as he tried to recover from his devastating losses in the well-remembered fire of July 4, 1866.

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Jonathan Morgan plea for assistance, Portland, 1869

The flames devoured 300 of his books, melted his stereotype plates, destroyed a sample mowing machine, turned to ashes all of the copies of his book, English Grammar, burned a turning lathe and sewing machine, and consumed everything else that the then 89-year-old owned.